level 4 bidding rules.
Some years back, at the suggestion of a member, the Committee at my Club agreed that, as a rule of the Club, members must comply with level 4 bidding rules.
I have a member who consistently fails to adhere to Level 4 bidding rules.
(Note: The Club does not insist that pairs have a systems card on the table).
How do I deal with that member?
Comments
I'm assuming here that they are using partnership agreements which are illegal at Level 4 - if so the appropriate action is in the white book:
2.9.2 Illegal agreement, fielding of psyche or deviation
2.9.2.1 Adjusted score
If a contestant uses a method that is not permitted, or is adjudged to have fielded a psyche or deviation then the deal should be completed. If they attain a score of AVE− or less then the score stands. Otherwise there is an assigned score (Law 12C1), sympathetically weighted for the non-offending side.
In other words, if the illegal agreement got them a bad score anyway it stays, but if not then you should try to adjust to what you think would have happened on the board if they hadn't used the illegal agreement. Sometimes that will be very difficult if not impossible, in which case you give the offending side AVE- and the non-offending AVE+.
Thanks . . . . . . Re: I'm assuming here that they are using partnership agreements which are illegal at Level 4
OK I am showing my ignorance here but I did not know that pairs could not have 'partnership agreements' outside of the level 4 bidding rules?
So what is this member doing, exactly?
The Level 4 bidding rules are about what agreements a partnership can have about their bidding. As Jeremy says, could you clarify what the member in question is actually doing wrong?
You shouldn't allow them to continue playing illegal methods and run behind them issuing adjusted scores every time they offend. If you've told them their methods are illegal you should also fine them after the first offence (WB2.9.2.2).
Thanks for the helpful replies . . . I believe that wwith this member it is not a psyche or any devious attempt to cheat it's he's just an idiot that makes crazy bids and sometimes gets him a botton because his partner presumed it was what it should have been and sometimes gets him a top because the opposition bid and played presuming it was what it should have been and it skews the results . . . he's on the agenda at the next committee meeting. I've spoken to him and he just laughs.
This now sounds to me as if they don't have agreements that fail to comply with level 4 restrictions, but that one player is making wild bids that sometimes work well and sometimes work badly. This is more difficult if they are in situations that aren't covered by agreements.
Sometimes the wild bids may be psyches, and you can possibly get them for fielding or failing to disclose their psyching habits. Other times you may get them for failing to disclose their agreements properly. You may have to handle these case-by-case.